Excuse me, but it was not done to save 12 jobs in Jersey City. UEZ funding is for many things, but not to bail out existing cultural centers. It is primarily used to bring businesses into economically depressed areas.

UEZ has been enormously successful. However, not by loans to non-profits state supported institutions such as the Liberty Science Center. The money helps businesses, it pays the first year of a police officer's salary, pays for police cars, is used for street scaping business areas... it is an incredible program that has created a quality of life in JC we would not otherwise see. That 2.5 million should have remained in the fund for those stated purposes especially now that our UEZ funding has been cut due to hard economic times.

I misquoted the CEO's salary, $310K, not 400. Plus it is he not she... i think I said she. Plus there are/were the 7 vice presidents making 100K.

I had a friend that immediately lost her full time job after they received the no interest loan.

However, you completely miss my point. Abatements are renegotiated so the developer can see a bigger profit margin and a loan (making no judgment either way) is made to a non-profit with no regulations about cutting costs including reductions in salaries at the top.

YET the council and the city are raising our taxes (less money to spend in our UEZ universe) and applauding employees going on unpaid furlough while keeping their perks.

This is my point. This is what I am talking about.


Quote:

"I was upset to learn that City employees were being asked to do this in light of the interest free UEZ loan given to the Liberty Science Center without requesting the executive director take a cut in her 400K salary."

What are you talking about?

The loan to the Science Center was done to save jobs for Jersey City - which is why the UEZ Program was developed in the '80's. And it has been enormously successful in VASTLY expanding employment in Jersey City.

And it is a LOAN (not a grant) - which wiill be repaid and the funds will be used again to support employment in other ways.

Who are you referring to when you indicate a salary of $400,000??

"To save money, Morrill said, Healy has instituted a voluntary furlough program in which employees are allowed to take up to 30 unpaid days off; instructed department directors to cut their budgets by 10 percent; continued a hiring freeze and a no-overtime policy unless absolutely necessary; and has continued to hunt for outside revenue."

Here is a City Council that is voting for these increases and applauding Healy for asking all the departments to give up vacation days and salary increases.

Fair enough, but will the City Council also give up their City cars and gas stipend?

I was upset to learn that City employees were being asked to do this in light of the interest free UEZ loan given to the Liberty Science Center without requesting the executive director take a cut in her 400K salary.

For over a year now the Affordable Housing division has been already doing the above. Yet we bail out the Liberty Science Center and don't ask for the same? This is UEZ money that could really help businesses struggling and areas in need.

AND poke fun at me or call me naive for saying this, but many, many, many city workers are dedicated and caring. Some of them are more informed and invested in the City than the large majority of us and they are not stupid. I have spoken to numerous employees trying to survive on already small salaries that they depend on to feed their families.

I was surprised to find out that often the full time salaries of city and county employees are less than that of the part-time council people.

If we are truly in this together then the council people would give up their perks like city cars and gas. They will claim they deserve them and I won't argue that point, but don't City employees just as much deserve their vacation days?

City employees are often lumped into one pile and I, not understanding how the City process works, have been abusive to the wrong people. As a citizen it seems like the City is horrible at costumer service. It is the City workers that often take the brunt of this in the form of an angry, frustrated, and abusive public. The system is horribly confusing and I still have not figured it out.

So again it is often the people that are the most dedicated to our City often working over time with no compensation and with little gratitude that would be most likely to give up their vacation days.

Let the Council support these hard working employees and give up their perks in their own way.

Are we not in this together?